Page 189 of Wanted Beta

What else could he mean?

Did I miss something while I was sleeping like a rock?

He takes a bite of his pizza, chews, swallows and sighs. “Okay, I don’t know if you want me to tell you this stuff in front of your sister or not, no offence, Catherine. It’s pack related, and there’s been … I guess you could call it an unexpected development.”

“I can leave the room,” Catherine offers.

I shake my head. “Unless it’s a sex thing …”

“I’ll start, and you tell me if you want to go out of the room, okay?” he asks, setting his slice down on the edge of the box.

“Sure,” I tell him, before taking a bite of mine.

“You were asking where Enzo was before, and I didn’t tell you because Arrow’s in heat. It’s a regular thing with Omegas and it’s not a big deal. It’s just something you should know. Gio was with him when it … well, I guess after it came on … Anyway, he’s fine, but we all agreed you should be told. Gio and Enzo are going to be kind of busy with him until his heat breaks.”

“Should we be with him?” I ask, knowing he needs his Alphas right now, but I’m not sure how that works when it comes to his other mates.

“It’s not a requirement,” he says. “Since a heat comes on every four to six weeks, life is bound to get in the way at least some of the time, so Arrow’s used to not having all of his mates around him the whole time. We make up for that whenever we can.”

“How long do they last?” Catherine asks, shrugging when I look at her. “Just curious.”

“A few days, usually. It varies a bit.”

“So, where’s the unexpected part?” I frown at him.

It all sounds pretty standard to me.

He smiles wryly. “Arrow was in the kitchen when his heat came on. While the rest of us were in the dining room talking plans and contractors. He had this feeling, and he had the same feeling the day before, when he saw this guy outside, staring at the restaurant.”

“Okay. What was the feeling?”

I know Omegas are highly intuitive so whatever he felt was likely valid, but the information so far isn’t adding up to anything explosive.

“He felt another mate, the fifth one for him, after you.”

I blink at him. “What?”

“I told you it was unexpected, right?” he asks.

“So, Arrow has another mate. One we haven’t met?”

“That’s where it gets kind of murky,” he admits. “You’ve definitely met him. I’ve definitely met him, and now Arrow has, too.”

The information sinks in slowly, and once it hits me who he’s talking about, I feel all the blood draining out of my face.

“Rourke? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not.” He picks his slice of pizza back up and starts eating.

We fall into silence, eating together without saying a word.

Half of the pizza is demolished before Catherine clears her throat.

“You know who Rourke’s parents are, right?”

I realize she’s looking to me for the answer and I nod. “Of course. I told you who they were.”

“What do his parents have to do with this?” Jack asks.

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